Gateway NX570X Review

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by Tres Spicher

Overview and Introduction

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The Gateway NX570 series is Gateway’s latest line of midsize 15.4” notebooks. At 6.3 pounds, the NX570X is not light enough to be considered very portable, but it’s certainly lighter than a full desktop replacement. The series features brushed aluminum palm rests, a scratch-resistant cover, and Windows Vista. The entry level model of the NX570X starts at $899.99. At the time of this writing, Gateway is also offering a $250 instant rebate and a free upgrade to 1 GB of main memory, bringing the total cost of the entry level model to a budget-friendly $649.99. My particular configuration is as follows:

• OS: Microsoft® Windows™ Vista Home Premium
• Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T7200 (2.00GHz, 667MHz FSB, 4MB L2 Cache)
• Memory: 2048MB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (2-1024MB modules)
• Graphics: Integrated Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950, 945GM Chipset
• Display: 15.4&quot; WXGA TFT Active Matrix (1280 x 800 max. resolution)
• Hard drive: 80GB 5400rpm Serial ATA hard drive
• Optical drive: 24x/ 10x/ 24x CD-RW / 8x DVD Combo Drive
• Battery: 6-cell Lithium-Ion Battery
• Memory card reader: 6-in-1 media card reader (Memory Stick®, MemoryStick Pro®, MultiMediaCard™, Secure Digital™, Mini Secure Digital®, RS-Multimedia Card™

Reasons for Buying

Gateway NX570 (view large image)

My fiancée’s old Toshiba A15 finally gave out, so I gave her my old Compaq V2000Z and started my search. I have a Core 2 Duo E6400 processor in my desktop and have been thoroughly impressed by its performance and lack of heat issues, so I knew I wanted the mobile version of the processor. My desktop has a good video card and is perfect for gaming, so I wasn't looking for a mean gaming machine in a laptop, but I did want good conventional performance for my research applications. Price was a big consideration as well, as I'm on a student budget at the moment and was looking to spend less than $1,200. I have had bad experiences with Toshibas in the past, so while the A135 seemed to fit the bill, I was looking for a different brand. Weight was an important factor for me, but durability was more important, as I tend to throw my laptop in my backpack with all of my books and I wasn’t willing to pay the premium for an ultraportable. I really liked the Vaio SZ series, but it was out of my price range. All things considered, the Gateway NX570X fit the bill better than any other laptop I could find, and with the $250 instant rebate and a $50 coupon code I found through Google, the price was right.

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Where and How Purchased

The Gateway NX570X outer box (view large image)

I purchased the NX570X through Gateway.com for a total price (including shipping costs and discounts) of $1,128.99. I was unable to find a comparable deal for a T7200 processor with 2 GB memory from any other manufacturer, so I definitely felt like I got a good deal. Shipping was a bit slow at 2 weeks, but to Gateway’s credit, it did arrive 3 days ahead of schedule. The computer was well-packed in two attractive boxes, which although by no means crucial, is a nice touch.

Gateway NX570 inner box (view large image)

Build &amp; Design

Size comparison to a cell phone (view large image)

My personal taste in laptop appearance is sleek, understated, and elegant. When I pulled the NX570X out of the box, I knew I had hit my trifecta. Most of the components of the laptop feel like they’re where they should be. While I did like my old Compaq V2000z, the keyboard layout felt clumsy, the DVD drive door was very vulnerable and exposed, and the plastic felt cheap. The NX570X suffers from none of these problems, but does still have a few problems of its own. The screen shows ripples if a fair amount of pressure (about as much as it takes to close a door) is applied to the center of the lid while holding the lid in place. The lid bends several millimeters when twisted side-to-side, but does not do so vertically without extreme force. While holding the body of the laptop securely and pushing the screen, it wobbles backward and forward once each before stopping. The body of the laptop sports a magnesium infrastructure, an aluminum palm rest, and for the most part is rock-solid. There is some creaking near the optical drive when pushed on, but that was the only place I noticed any apparent weakness in the body. The laptop feels sturdier than similarly priced laptops, but I wouldn’t go around dropping it on concrete or putting too much weight on the lid.

Gateway NX570 disassembled (view large image)

Screen

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The 15.4” WXGA matte screen is probably nothing to write home about, but I have been satisfied with its brightness and clarity. The 1280x800 resolution is sufficient but not quite high enough for my tastes. Gateway offers several upgrade options for the display, but this was one of the areas I cut corners on. There is minor light leakage near the bottom of the screen, but nothing that’s noticeable unless you’re specifically looking for it. Against a white background, some slightly uneven backlighting is apparent toward the bottom corners. Both light leakage and backlighting are better than my 17” Acer desktop LCD. The unit shipped without any dead pixels that I can detect. Viewing angles are average at best: acceptable at a variety of horizontal angles, sub par for most vertical viewing angles.

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Speakers

The speakers are typical laptop speakers – tinny and underpowered, but they get the job done in a relatively quiet room. For any serious use, external speakers or headphones are absolutely necessary. I have mixed feelings about Gateway’s decision to place the speakers on the front side of the machine. On the one hand, I like that I can have music playing unobstructed with the lid closed; on the other hand, when the laptop is in my lap, the sound is blocked by my body. It’s really a matter of personal preference.

Processor and Performance

The T7200 Core 2 Duo in my NX570X lives up to the hype and my expectations. Paired with 2 GB of 667 MHz DDR2 RAM, all non-graphics related tasks are as fast as can reasonably be expected from a mainstream laptop. Graphics, however, are really where this laptop falls down. The integrated Intel chipset is pathetic, but sufficient to run Aero on Vista. I tried to run Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory (a 2003 game) and was averaging 15 fps. I didn’t bother trying to run a more modern game. Because my desktop is suitable for gaming, this is not a major issue for me. The 5400 rpm hard drive is probably the bottleneck for my system, but I have no complaints. The time from when the Gateway splash screen appears to the Vista login screen is 29 seconds.

Benchmarks

Super Pi Comparison Results

Super Pi forces the processor to calculate Pi to 2 million digits of accuracy and gives an idea of the processor speed and performance:

Notebook	Time
Gateway NX570X (2.0GHz Core 2 Duo)	1m 04s
MSI M677 (1.8 GHz Turion X2)	1m 53s
Fujitsu LifeBook N6420 (2.00GHz Core 2 Duo)	1m 02s
LG S1 (2.16 GHz Core Duo)	1m 11s
Dell Inspiron e1505 (2.0GHz Core Duo)	1m 16s
Lenovo ThinkPad T60 (2.0GHz Core Duo)	1m 18s
Toshiba Satellite M100 (2.00GHz Core Duo)	1m 18s
Samsung X60 (1.66GHz Core Duo)	1m 29s
Sony VAIO FS680 (1.86 GHz Pentium M)	1m 53s

 

HDTune hard drive performance:

HDTune is a program that measures hard drive performance and health, below is a screenshot of the chart generated by this benchmark when run against the Gateway NX570.

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CPU-Z

CPU-Z is a freeware program that gathers information on some of the main devices of your system, below is the output generated by this program when run against the NX570

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Heat and Noise

I am perhaps overly sensitive to heat and noise issues because I have had three Toshiba systems all with heat problems so bad they caused repeated system shutdowns. Even when the systems managed to stay on, the fans sounded like a Boeing. I have noticed that the fans on the Gateway are usually on at their lowest setting when using Vista’s “Power Saver” mode, but they are only noticeable in a silent room. On “High Performance” mode and while running CPU-intensive tasks, the fans kick up to a higher setting. Still, the noise is within reason and not so excessive I would be embarrassed to bring the machine to class. The NX570X expels heat through a vent on the left-hand side and the body is warm to the touch on the bottom but usually cool on top, even after extended use. I have never felt uncomfortable with the laptop in my lap, even while wearing shorts. The optical drive is no louder than any other drive I’ve had, and the sound emitted from it is (subjective as it may sound) more “pleasing” to me in that it sounds more like a fan than a high pitched whine or growl.

Keyboard and Touchpad

Gateway NX570X keyboard and touchpad (view large image)

The keyboard is one place where I take slight issue with the NX570X. The keys are a little too “clacky” for my taste, making more noise than an average laptop keyboard. The ‘Fn’ and ‘Ctrl’ keys have been switched from their normal positions and I often find myself taking several seconds to make sure I am hitting the ‘Ctrl’ key instead of the ‘Fn’ key. Some keyboard flex is noticeable in normal typing when hitting keys close to the edges of the keyboard. My V2000z had huge gaps between some of the keys, so I am relieved to see that the gaps between keys are minimal on the NX570X. Dedicated buttons to control volume would be nice (a physical volume knob would be even nicer). One keyboard feature I do like is that the ‘Fn’ + 1 combination turns on or off the power, HDD, WLAN, and battery LEDs. The touchpad is pretty standard, and while the touchpad buttons feel a little loose, I like that the touchpad itself features a raised ridge to separate the scroll area from the main touchpad.

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Input and Output Ports

Gateway NX570 front side view (view large image)

Gateway NX570 left side view (view large image)

Gateway NX570 right side view (view large image)

Gateway NX570 back view (view large image)

The NX570X sports four USB 2.0 ports, an IEEE 1394 Firewire port, a standard Ethernet jack, a 56K modem jack, an S-Video port, a VGA-out port, microphone and line out ports, and a standard PC Card slot. The four USB ports are sufficient for my purposes, but it would be nice if two of them were on the left side instead of having all four of them on the right. I would have liked to have an ExpressCard slot in case I ever decide I want better video performance. A DVI-out port also would have been nice, but given the lack of video capabilities on this machine I was not surprised to see it doesn’t have one. Still, I’m pleased to see that firewire, modem, and S-Video ports are present.

Wireless

The NX570X has Integrated Intel 802.11a/b/g Wireless Networking, and I haven't had any real problems with it so far. Sitting side by side with my Compaq V2000z and connected to the same network, the NX570X shows 2 bars less. I'm not sure I would attach any significance to this, as the V2000z is running XP while this machine is running Vista. This machine does not have Bluetooth support, although Gateway does provide an option for Bluetooth support as a customization. There is no infrared port.

Battery

My laptop has the standard 6-cell lithium ion battery, which Gateway claims will last for upwards of 4 hours. My experience has been that this claim is a little exaggerated, but not too far off the mark. On “Power Saver” mode, I have been able to reliably get 3.5 hours. With undervolting and a little more customization, I’m sure I could push this even higher. Still, I am very happy with the battery life. Previous laptops I’ve had claimed 3 hour battery life and I would be happy if they lasted through a single 75 minute class. Gateway also offers an 8-cell option and a 12-cell option. The 8-cell battery stays within the confines of the system while the 12-cell extends out the back.

Operating System and Software

Included software disks and documentation (view large image)

The NX570X comes with Windows Vista Home Premium standard, with the option to upgrade to Business or Ultimate. The machine comes with Microsoft Works as the standard productivity suite and the usual array of useless bloatware. I was pleased to see that Gateway ships an OS disk with the system, although I am unhappy with the pre-configured “recovery partition” that steals almost 10 GB of my already limited hard disk space. I normally reformat my laptops and set up my own partitions, but I’m nervous to throw away the recovery partition for fear of losing an unrecoverable driver.

Customer Support

So far I have only had contact with Gateway’s sales staff based in North Sioux City, SD. The young lady I spoke to through live chat was very helpful and to the point. She attempted to give me discounts on my purchase, but given the heavy discounts I had already applied to my order was unable to do so. I have not yet had a chance to deal with Gateway’s technical support (quite frankly, I hope I don’t have to). The sticker price includes a 1 year limited warranty that covers manufacturer defects, with the option to buy accidental damage protection and longer warranty periods. Gateway allows you to purchase protection plans after your initial purchase date in case you don’t have enough cash to buy both the laptop and the service plan at the same time.

Conclusion

Overall, I am very happy with my purchase. The laptop meets my needs and I got a great buy on it. While I would have liked a lighter laptop, my definition of portability goes beyond weight. For a laptop to be truly portable, it needs to be able to withstand the abuses of daily travel. Although it remains to be seen if this laptop will survive the test of time, I feel confident that I have made a good purchase. My complaints are minor and at the price point at which I got the NX570X, I don’t think I could have done any better.

Pros

• Sleek yet understated design
• Good battery life
• Great price/performance ratio
• Solid case

Cons

• Poor graphics capabilities – NOT for gaming
• Noisy keyboard with switched ‘Fn’ and ‘Ctrl’ keys and some keyboard flex
• A little heavy
• No ExpressCard slot

 

Great review! Something's wrong with your hard drive though, my old 4200rpm one had better transfer rates.

 

I agree, the graph even looks whacky for that HD Tune benchmark result.

Gateway is one of those companies I always forget about, but they do have some good offerings and the price on this machine is really quite fantastic for the features you get.

I've been hearing more and more good stories of late about customer support experiences with Gateway. Maybe there's life for this PC veteran company after all.

Great review Tres!

(nice packaging there too, I agree)

 

Nice review! I have that system (albeit with x1400) and I'm happy with it as well.

only thing i don't like about it is my hard drive idles @ 54 degrees Celsius.

 

I was seriously considering purchasing this laptop about a month ago. The design is very stylish and professional and the price was great. However, the graphics card really bugged me. Even with the x1400 that was offered on the higher end model, it still wasn't sufficient for my needs. Therefore, I decided to wait and finally bought an Asus F3JP off of newegg.com with a x1700 GPU, 1680 x 1050 screen, 2 year warranty, and other extras and goodies for about $1500.

With that said, anybody who isn't looking for a higher end GPU should still consider getting this Gateway. I think it's a stellar laptop offered at a great price.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I hadn't had any critical problems with the hard drive, so I wasn't sure if it was just my imagination... I'll have to check it out.

Some other thoughts after having had the laptop for a few weeks:

• If you have finger pain, you will definitely want to try out the keyboard before you buy this laptop. The depth of keypresses is very shallow and at my normal typing intensity, I notice more pain in my fingers than using a desktop or my old laptop.
• So far so good in my backpack... hopefully that continues to be the case.
• It's a little too easy to accidentally push the optical drive eject button
• Just re-emphasizing the limits of the video card - I was watching a DVD through the S-Video cable on my TV and I had to lower the resolution significantly to get things to not be choppy. Multiple monitors may be a problem, although I haven't tried it yet.
• The looks of the laptop keep growing on me.

 

Superb review! Very well written.

I am quite surprised at the good quality of this notebook, especially at that price point. I agree, its a good choice for a non-gaming notebook.

 

Great review! Maybe it is just me, but it seems that Gateway has come out with some better products lately and maybe there quality is improving a little.

 

Very nice review, that black Gateway box looks an awful lot like the Apple Macbook Pro boxes.........................coincidence?

 

Really nice review! It's good to see that Gateway is still making decent computers. One of my last desktops before I started building my own was a Gateway. Haven't owned one in the ten years since them, but I always get nostalgic for them.

About your gaming performance, of course the Intel integrated graphics aren't anything to write home about, but you should be getting better performance with a 2003 game. I have a Vaio S54b (Japanese version of S480) that I bought in summer of 2005 and it has the integrated GMA 900, but I am able to play 2003 era games, and even some modern games, quite well. The only games I have on it at the moment are World of Warcraft and Dreamfall, but both get above 30fps on medium settings. I've heard that Vista has some issues with gaming, so I wonder if it could be the culprit?

Anyway, thanks again for the good review!

 

Probably not, but I'm not complaining

Yeah, after seeing some of the comments here I am going to try a few tweaks to the laptop. I'm going to replace the hard drive (I wanted a bigger one anyway but couldn't afford it all at once) and see if the HDD issues clear up. I'm also going to try installing XP and/or Linux to see if Enemy Territory runs better under either environment. I'll keep this thread updated with the results.

Did you get the 7200 rpm drive? As you can see from my HD Tune screenshot, even after some intense usage it only gets up to 48 Celsius. Idle temperature is in the high 20s/low 30s.



Thanks to everyone for the feedback!

 

nah i have the same hard drive , it just gets really hot in my PC.

No clue why yours doesn't =/ , my heatsink extends a bit further down because of the graphics chip maybe that causes the hard drive to heat up more.

 

I have a similar laptop, the MX6447. A couple months older and with a painted handrest rather than the brushed metal.

Wondering if anyone knows of a 3rd party company that sells these? After just a couple months, my painted unit is wearing through the paint (amazingly, as I am the most anal/careful person). Or, has anyone thrown a 6000 series laptop into one of the 570 cases?

Shoot me a PM if you have--thanks!

Ryan

 

20.1" Vs 15"

 

Hello...
I'm 18 and need a notebook for college, and I have been seriously considering the NX570 or any Gateway 15.4" with Intel 2 Core Dual. It will be used in classrooms most likely and will be used for some gaming too

You say the fan is loud... Do you think it will be a problem in my case?
And as far as gaming goes, I will be getting the upgrade graphics card. Will 128MB do the trick? And will it work well enough with 1MB RAM instead?

Same specs as yours with the graphics card for about 1,000 USD either online or at best buy.

Thanks

 

I wouldn't worry about the fan noise Most of the time, I doubt you will be playing Quake in class (of course, I could be wrong about that). I have never been embarrassed to have this laptop in class.

I use my desktop for gaming, so I don't really know how this thing performs with the upgraded graphics card. If you manage to get a dedicated card, that should allow you to play most games (although I wouldn't expect it to keep pace with newer games). I certainly hope you're getting more than 1MB RAM 1GB should be fine; I went with 2GB because I always end up upgrading anyway.

Not a bad deal!

 

Wonderful review. a bit disheartening AFTER I placed the order, but when I compare it to what I am currently using (because this computer was free), I am losing my mind in excitement to get the NX570X.
I for some reason did not get the upgrade to T7200 and am staying at 1.73 Ghz. I wonder if I can upgrade that at a later date if necessary? hhhmmm. I mean without having to send it back to gateway.
and I have my 2 onegig cards on the way.

Anyway, I used to play tons of video games, I had quite an experience when Half-Life first came out, and am a bit sad about the reviews on the graphics of this thing... but I have to remind myself that I can build a PC for that, or just buy a PS3 or 360. besides, don't have as much time for gaming anymore, this will be more for music.

I'm curious what you use your NX570X for mostly? (this being directed to Tresofbass mainly, but anyone can answer). I'm a gigging musician in a couple of bands and travel frequently, so I got the 12 Cell battery, aaaand some other stuff.

but like I said, compared to this computers: (don't laugh, it was free!)
Pentium 3 498 MHz
256 RAM
NVIDIA RIVA TNT2 (cheap...cheap...cheap)
40 G Hard Drive.

(damn...this thing is skin and bones computing, let me tell you).
yet I can take care of all my digital media for the bands on photoshop and still play some older games I enjoy.

so, yea. COME ON NX570X!

 

I mostly use mine as a backup for my desktop, so in general I am only using it when I need to be able to do computing on the road (or in my living room on the wireless). I would not expect to be able to play Half LIfe on it.

This is a good opportunity for me to update everyone on a couple of things about this laptop after owning it for the better part of a year. First, the negative, which may well be specific to my individual laptop: In general, I would recommend against putting the NX570X in a backpack. The DVD tray is now very touchy and likes to eject itself on its own occasionally. The screen is fairly easily pressed against the keyboard and has some scratches to show for it. To me, these issues are minor, and I still do throw it in my backpack, but I bought this for convenience, not to be a long-term solution. I have not yet replaced my hard disk, but I am fairly convinced that the hard disk has some kind of problem, as some of you suggested from my benchmarks. I do not like the recoil of the keys (my fingers start to hurt after lots of typing), but that may be a personal preference.

Then the good: I am still very pleased with the battery life even with the standard battery. I routinely get at least 2.5 hours out of it, and I'm sure with the 12 cell you would get even more. It still runs pretty quiet, and the fan only kicks on under heavy load and even then it's quiet enough that I'm not embarrassed to have it in class. Except what I said above, all of the other positives in my review still hold and I am still pleased with the laptop.

 

yea, I don't really expect to play any video games on this. mainly it's for production and portability. I'll be using it to record live shows and be able to turn around and mix them and send them to our recording engineer. so I don't really require too much video power.
I wonder if World of Warcraft (that they include with the system these days) can even run ok. haha
and if so, I'll just start playing StarCraft again.

anyway, again. thanks for the review.